


Unreal

by yarnandtea



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-26
Updated: 2012-09-26
Packaged: 2017-11-15 03:04:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/522446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yarnandtea/pseuds/yarnandtea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John has a strange dream that quickly turns unpleasant, but not before it gives him a greater appreciation for a certain snarky physicist.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unreal

**Author's Note:**

> Mild spoilers through season two's "Trinity." (Originally published on Wraitbait in 2006 under the name dragonlady.)

The sound of the rain pounding on the window panes was almost hypnotic. He had given up all hope of concentrating while the storm continued and had instead opted for just watching the outside world. The blurred outlines gave everything a surreal quality in which he was losing himself with enthusiasm. It was hardly a surprise, therefore, when the sharp poke in his side caused him to jump, almost falling out of his seat.  
  
“John!” Someone, the poker, he assumed, hissed beside him. John swung his head in the direction of his name and received his second shock in mere seconds. He very clearly knew that the person sitting on his right was Elizabeth Weir, but she looked like she was about seventeen years old. Before he could begin to wonder about this she started whispering furiously at him. He noticed she was shooting furtive glances to the front of the room as she did so. “Wake up! I know you’re tired John but you’re already in enough trouble with Sumiko and if he catches you daydreaming in class he’ll give you at least a week’s worth of detention. Tough it out for twenty more minutes and then you can go home and nap!”  
  
John blinked. Apparently finished, Elizabeth had returned her attention front and center, applying her pencil to the notebook on the desk in front of her. John blinked again. He had understood the words coming out of his boss’s mouth, but they really didn’t make any sense. Certain words kept pushing themselves to the front of his mind, words like “class” and “detention.” Shifting in his seat he realized that it was, in fact, a desk just like the one Elizabeth was seated at, the typical high school desk. He looked down and saw that he too had a notebook and pencil, both lying abandoned in favor of, he supposed, watching the rain outside the windows to his left. Slowly he looked around, taking in the rest of the room. About fifteen other kids, the same age as young Elizabeth, were all paying attention to the front of the room in varying degrees. The objects of their attention were clearly a large chalkboard and the short man standing in front of it, droning on about something mathematical. The man, Sumiko, currently had his back turned to the class while he wrote several equations on the chalkboard. He didn’t recognize any of the people in the room apart from Elizabeth.  
  
 _Okay…for some reason I’ve dreamed myself back into high school calculus and my subconscious decided to bring Elizabeth along._  He pinched the crook of his arm and winced.  _Well that didn’t work; I guess I’m not getting off that easy. So far nothing’s trying to kill me, there’s no Wraith or Genii. I may as well just ride it out and see where this is going._  Having decided to wait out the dream, (because he was convinced it couldn’t be anything else, despite the lack of success from the pinching experiment), John resumed his observation of the classroom. It certainly didn’t resemble any high school classroom he had ever set foot in, nor were any of the students one-time schoolmates of his. Sumiko didn’t remotely remind him of any teacher he had ever had. He briefly pondered this information, wondering if it could mean anything, before giving up the idea. Clearly his subconscious was weird, and it was probably best to leave it at that. Awake or asleep he had never gone in for any of that dream interpretation mumbo-jumbo.  
  
“Mr. Sheppard, if you would be so kind as to come to the front of the class?” John’s face whipped around to the front of the room to see the teacher giving him an expectant and altogether unpleasant smile.  _What the hell?_ John shrugged to himself and stood up. He noticed Elizabeth grimacing as he walked to the front. Apparently the dream teacher had it in for him. Fun. Sumiko handed him a piece of chalk when he reached the front of the room and indicated one of the more complex equations on the board. “Now, class, Mr. Sheppard is going to work this out on the board while you work the same equations at your desk. I’m sure at least one or two of you will be able to point out his mistakes once he’s finished.” John raised his eyebrow as the man stepped aside and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Mentally he shrugged again and decided there was no point in being affronted. After all, Sumiko was just a figment of John’s imagination, right? Turning to the chalkboard, John smiled to himself. This equation was a cakewalk for someone who had passed the MENSA test. He quickly worked out the problem on the board and turned to Sumiko, handing him the chalk and smiling.  
  
“Done, sir.” From the corner of his eye John could see Elizabeth’s eyes widen. The look of surprise only lasted for a moment before it was replaced by the all too familiar expression she got when she was trying to suppress laughter. His attention returned to the teacher and he had a feeling his expression mirrored his friend’s as the man scowled, unable to find any errors in his work.  
  
“Well. For once it seems like Mr. Sheppard’s done his homework. Hmph. If you didn’t get this answer, be sure to copy his work down and compare it to your own.” Catching John’s grin, Sumiko narrowed his eyes. “You may take your seat Mr. Sheppard. Miss Billings, you’re next.” John did his best not to saunter back to his seat, really he did. He had no idea why he was dreaming up an asshole math teacher with a superiority complex, but all the same, it damn sure felt nice to stick it to the man. Elizabeth grinned at him as he slid into his seat and sat back to watch Miss Billings’ turn at the board. His smile lasted all the way to the bell signaling the end of class.  
  
\--  
  
“The look on Sumiko’s face was priceless John! He never calls you to the board unless he thinks you can’t work the equation.”  
  
John was leaning against the row of lockers while Elizabeth sorted through her own locker, determining which books to take home with her and which to leave behind for the night. John had caught sight of his reflection in the mirror attached to the locker door and had confirmed that he looked just like he had at seventeen. He found this disconcerting and reassuring at the same time.  
  
“That equation was a snap Elizabeth. I can’t imagine why he’d think I wouldn’t be able to solve it. What’s he got against me anyway?” Elizabeth closed her locker and gave John a considering look.  
  
“Riiiiight. Are you feeling all right John? I know you’ve had a long week, but seriously, you aren’t acting like yourself today. And since when do you call me Elizabeth? Is this some new phase you’re going through? Because if it is, you can just forget it, unless you want me to start calling you Jonathan in reciprocation. Do you need to go to your locker?”  
  
“Liz…” he tried, continuing when his friend visibly relaxed, “Nah, I reckon I’ve got everything I need for tonight.” He was trying to figure out a way to subtly ask her where exactly he lived and how to get home when his attention was caught by a boy appearing at the end of the corridor. John’s face lit up brightly with his grin.  _Now that’s more like it; I was hoping he would show up!_ In the same way he had known Elizabeth was, well, Elizabeth, he instantly recognized the boy at the end of the hall as Rodney McKay. Young Rodney looked even more different from his real-life counterpart than young Elizabeth. He was the same height but his normally solid frame was much leaner . . . and then there was the hair, in the way that it was actually there. Not that his Rodney was bald, but young Rodney had an unkempt mop of light brown hair that John could only describe as adorable. He paused to consider that thought.  _Nope, not a fluke, Rodney’s_ hot _. Who’d have thought?_  
  
He started to make his way to his best friend when those brilliant blue eyes met his and John froze. The look Rodney was giving John was calculating. It wasn’t the normal gleeful calculation John was used to but was instead hard and cold. John imagined this look was very similar to the one he wore when facing Koyla. The realization that Rodney was looking at him as if he was an  _enemy_  hit John like a sucker punch. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, when Rodney spun on his heel and headed the other way.  
  
 _What the_ hell _?_  
  
“Rodney?” John asked, almost in a whisper. He shook himself and made to follow, raising his voice to call out, “McKay!” Elizabeth’s hand gripping his wrist stopped him. Her expression was hard but he could see concern lurking in her eyes. He hated when Elizabeth looked at him like that.  
  
“Let him go John. You’ve done enough to Rodney McKay this week to last a lifetime. Just leave him alone, please.” Her pleading tone stopped John short. What did she mean by he’d done enough to Rodney? Suddenly this dream or whatever the hell it was had stopped being entertaining. It was time to wake up. Now. Elizabeth was giving him that considering look again. She held out her hand to him. “Keys.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Give me your keys. I am driving you home. You’re obviously not feeling well. I don’t know what’s wrong, but I’ll be damned if I’ll get in a car with you behind the wheel like this.” John stared at her blankly and fished in his backpack, finding a ring of keys and handing them over. At least that solved his problem of figuring out how to get home.  
  
\--  
  
They didn’t speak the whole way to the car. John had to restrain a wince when Elizabeth led him to an obviously well cared for Mustang. It was a far cry from the Oldsmobile his father had allowed him drive when he had been in high school. This car though was always the kind of thing Rodney assumed John must have driven whenever he got into one of his “geeks versus grunts” moods. It served as yet another reminder of how unreal this whole situation was. The silence continued for another three blocks after they left the school. Elizabeth pulled up to stop at a red light and John decided it was time to get some answers. “What did I do to him?”  
  
“Excuse me?” Elizabeth glanced at him, her eyes widening in surprise then quickly narrowing in suspicion. “You’re not seriously asking me that, are you John? This really isn’t funny.”  
  
“Eliza—Liz, look, just humor me here. Pretend I’ve got amnesia or something. What the hell did I do to McKay to make him look at me like that?” John was still reeling. He didn’t find the idea of being on Rodney’s shit list funny at all. They hadn’t exactly been best friends from the start, but there had been an instant camaraderie and once Rodney had agreed to join John’s SG team the deal had been sealed. He couldn’t imagine his life without the other man in a featured—hell,  _starring_  role. The fact that his subconscious had no problem breaking up the dynamic duo really disturbed John. Elizabeth must have seen something in his expression to convince her that he was serious because as the light turned green she nodded.  
  
“When we get home.” He sighed and leaned back against the headrest, closing his eyes. A few minutes later he felt the car pull to a stop and he opened his eyes. Elizabeth had pulled into the driveway of a house at the end of a residential cul de sac. They got out of the car and headed inside, Elizabeth using John’s key to open the front door. She tossed the keys onto a table in hallway and moved into the next room. John could hear her muttering under her breath, something about babysitting an insane brother.  
  
 _Wait. Brother? What???_  
  
John’s eyes were caught by a large framed photograph hanging over the hallway table. It displayed a couple on what was definitely their wedding day with John age twelve standing next to the woman and someone who was evidently Elizabeth age twelve standing next to the man. Ah, step-siblings then. That made a weird kind of sense. His thoughts were interrupted by a disgruntled Elizabeth reappearing in the hallway. “Do you want me to explain this to you or not? I haven’t got all night you know. Some of us have dates.”  
  
He followed her into the living room and sat down on a cushy couch. Elizabeth’s demeanor was doing nothing to alleviate the sense of dread building somewhere in the bottom of his stomach. The way she was pacing in front of the couch was eerily reminiscent of the way she paced her office whenever a Wraith attack was impending.  
  
“Oh God. Liz what did I do?” She stopped pacing and turned to face him, taking a deep breath.  
  
“What’s really going on with you John? You know perfectly well that ever since Rodney moved here last year the two of you really have just gotten under each other’s skins. I mean you’ve always been really horrible to each other. It’s always been mostly verbal though.” John shook his head in disbelief. He and McKay were always giving each other crap but there was never anything malicious behind it. This dream  _sucked_. He must really be pissed at himself about something. He looked up at Elizabeth, encouraging her to continue, but she hesitated.  
  
“Come on, Liz. Please. I need to know.”  
  
“John.” She was getting exasperated. “I know you said to humor you, but…I mean, last night you told me you just wanted to forget it had ever happened, and now you’re practically begging me to make you relive the whole fiasco.” Her look very clearly said he’d better not be pulling her leg or she would make him pay.  
  
“Liz, really, I’m not messing with you. It’s just—I think I need to hear it from someone else’s perspective, try to figure out if there’s any way to get past this without making the rest of the year a living hell.” That seemed to do it.  
  
“Right, well…three weeks ago you two got paired up for some project in your chemistry class and that’s when things just escalated. You were ragging on him about being a…well, about being really unlucky with girls and he decided to botch the project on purpose. His grades are good enough that the F didn’t even touch him, but, well, you know what your grades are like. You’ve been fighting all year to scrape a B in chemistry and Rodney killed any chance of that. You’ve been busting your butt doing extra credit work for that class ever since just so you’ll manage a C.” This elicited a frown from John. What was up with this dream? He had always done really well in school. This just didn’t make sense.  
  
“So I take it I retaliated?” Even as he asked the question he knew what her answer would be. She sighed and sat down next to him on the couch, curling her feet up underneath herself.  
  
“With a vengeance. You can’t touch him academically so you decided to take him down socially. I mean, most people don’t really like him anyway because he’s so…” she waved her hands in the air, gesturing vaguely. John nodded. It figured that even as a teenager Rodney would be arrogant and abrasive. John could see how most people wouldn’t find it as endearing as he did, but he had always believed Rodney’s friendship was well worth the trouble of getting past those traits. Elizabeth sighed and looked at him with some reproach, “You’re pretty damn vicious when you put your mind to it John. You enlisted the cheerleaders and other gossips to ferret out anyone who even looked like they were thinking about being friends with Rodney and you just destroyed any chance of it ever happening. His best friend Billy was the only person standing by him so you convinced the guy’s girlfriend to say Rodney had put the moves on her. It wasn’t pretty. John you’ve made him a pariah.”  
  
John looked down at his hands. Okay, this was bad; apparently he was an evil bastard. But it was also rather…high school. Besides, the Rodney he knew had always gone in for quality and not quantity when it came to friendships. He didn’t exactly  _not_  care about what other people thought of him, but he very rarely let any negativity affect him. If anything Rodney just went out of the way to prove the other guy was an idiot and left it at that. But when it came down to it, none of that crap would be near enough to earn the look of enmity Rodney McKay had given him this afternoon. Which could only mean…”What happened this week? You said I’d done enough to him this week to last a lifetime…what did I do?”  
  
“John, don’t make me say this…you know how much I love you, but I can’t…I know you didn’t mean for it to play out like it did. Everyone makes mistakes, just let it go…” He met her gaze and held it, pulling up every ounce of command he could muster. Judging from Elizabeth’s face it must have worked despite his seventeen year old body.  
  
“Tell me.”  
  
Elizabeth’s eyes broke free and she looked away, but he knew she’d caved. She’d tell him.  
  
“Monday morning you found out that there were going to be some college recruiters coming in on Wednesday. Specifically, you heard that M.I.T. was coming to see Rodney. You thought it would be funny if his interview didn’t go so well. Apparently he’s a genius, you told me there was no way they weren’t going to accept him, but at least you could maybe embarrass him a little…” John groaned and Elizabeth sped up, trying to get it all out as quickly as possible. “I have no idea how but you managed to spike his coke at lunch on Wednesday. His interview was right after that and well, I don’t know if you put more alcohol in his coke than you thought or if he just has a really low tolerance…” John groaned again. He knew exactly what had happened. Rodney had been nervous about the interview and probably hadn’t eaten anything at all most of Wednesday. Add the alcohol to next to no food and top it off with the hypoglycemia and he had probably been hammered. Elizabeth finished quietly, “We never really found out the details but the M.I.T. rep was so appalled she basically told Rodney he could forget any chance of ever getting in to her school, or half of the other schools he had applied to. He was furious. Yesterday he confronted you and when you tried to apologize he got even madder. He just started swinging at you and you started swinging back. The two of you almost killed each other--it’s a miracle neither one of you gave each other any visible bruises. John, how can you not remember this?”  
  
John didn’t answer; he just shook his head in denial. What the hell was going on? Even with the guys he had actually hated in high school, he would never have done anything like that. All he knew for sure was that he was trapped in some sort of nightmare and he apparently wasn’t waking up any time soon. Maybe he had been captured by the Wraith and they were somehow doing this to him. Not that it mattered at the moment. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice Elizabeth slip out of the room.  
  
\--  
  
John sat curled up on a chair in what was apparently his bedroom in this freaky dreamland. It was still raining, and the storm had picked up in intensity. John leaned his forehead against the windowpane and watched the water running down the window. It was still light enough outside that he could make out a solitary figure walking hunched over against the wetness. The figure made its way up the sidewalk of the house across the street and to the front door. Right before going inside the figure straightened up and for the second time that day John recognized his best friend in this world of strangers.  _Rodney!_ John was halfway down the stairs before he even realized he’d decided to talk to the other boy. Elizabeth’s head poked out of the office door as he raced by. She called out to him but he didn’t hear her. He was out the door and across the street so fast that the rain barely even touched him. It didn’t even occur to him to wonder what the hell he was going to say until his finger had already pressed the doorbell. The door was opened seconds later by a drenched and disgruntled looking Rodney McKay. His eyes widened in surprise when he recognized his visitor.  
  
“Sheppard? What the hell are you doing here? We’ve already said everything we need to say to each other. Can’t you just leave me alone?” John winced at that last bit. He was fairly certain Rodney hadn’t meant to say that part out loud. Just looking at his friend he could see how defeated Rodney was, and knowing that he was the responsible party for that defeat made John feel empty inside.  
  
“Rodney. God, I…I am so sorry. I never meant. You know I wouldn’t…” He couldn’t get the words out. Rodney’s expression was hardening by the second, and John knew he didn’t have long before that door was slammed in his face. He briefly wondered if this was anything like how Rodney had felt after Doranda when he had come to apologize to John. John was beginning to think he owed his own Rodney a big apology too. Apparently John’s incoherency was the last straw for this Rodney though.  
  
“Oh, so all of a sudden it’s  _Rodney_  now is it? What the hell gives you the right to talk to me like you know me? You don’t know a damn thing about me Sheppard, and I don’t know what you wouldn’t do. I do know you would stoop low enough to ruin someone’s whole future with a stupid juvenile prank.” John wanted to tell Rodney that this wasn’t true. He knew so much about him! They were best friends for God’s sake! He couldn’t put it to words and he felt like everything that mattered in the world was slipping out of his grasp.  
  
“Rodney…please…” He had been waiting for the door to be slammed in his face. He was totally unprepared for what Rodney chose to do instead. Those blue eyes that were exactly like the real Rodney’s narrowed in anger. The punch hit him square on the jaw and he felt the brief sensation of the rain on his face as he landed on the sidewalk before everything went black.  
\--  
“Colonel?” John flinched; he raised his arms above his head to ward off another punch before the word actually registered. “Colonel? Hello? Come in Colonel Sheppard…” It dawned on him that he was dry. He was still on the ground, but at least he wasn’t lying on a sidewalk in the middle of a downpour. Slowly, John lowered his arms and opened his eyes. Hazel eyes locked with blue. “Ah there you are. You had us worried about you there, Colonel. As soon as you activated the device you went out like a light. You almost hit your head on the table on the way down too. It’s a good thing I was here to catch you, eh?” John took in the concern and relief in those blue eyes. Suddenly it was too much to bear. He blinked and looked away, confirming that he was safe and sound in Atlantis, before looking back at his best friend. Rodney was wearing that all too familiar crooked little smug smile.  
  
“Rodney! Oh thank God!” Without any notice he flung his arms around the man in front of him in a vice-like hug. “I’m so sorry! Man I am so damn sorry!”  
  
“Oh-kay,” Rodney drawled, trying to disentangle from his friend’s hug. He could hear Stackhouse snickering behind him and he knew Carson had to be making similar, if quieter, sounds next to him. “I think maybe it’s time for a little field trip to the infirmary for you. Then maybe you can explain why a fifteen minute nap has turned you into Mr. Touchy Feely.” There was no bite in the words so John let go of Rodney and let himself be led to a transporter, Carson hot on their tail.  
  
“So, um, Rodney…this device I activated…I don’t suppose you know what it does?” Rodney snorted.  
  
“You mean besides turning you into Sleeping Beauty?” They had reached the infirmary and Carson took the lead, gesturing John to an empty bed and breaking out his trusty pen-light. “Well, we’re still trying to work out the exact translation, but it’s supposedly a teaching tool of some kind.”  
  
“Teaching tool?” John briefly wondered if that explained the flashback to high school.  
  
“Yeah, at least that’s the best lead we’ve got at the moment. The instructions for this one are in some kind of riddle for some reason. Because Ancient technology is normally so easy for us to figure out. Why not throw in the added bonus of a riddle in a ten thousand year old dead language?” John smiled at the playful snark. Dream Rodney hadn’t had any of that. He had been hurt and bitter and cold. John didn’t ever want to see his Rodney like that. “Anyway, as far as we can figure it’s supposed to help whoever activates it to learn some sort of pivotal life lesson. Zelenka’s pretty sure it’s user-specific too, so that it would be the lesson or lessons each individual user most needs to learn…” Rodney trailed off upon seeing the colonel’s frown. Carson didn’t want to interrupt their conversation so he motioned to Rodney that John was cleared to go and excused himself to his office. “As far as we are aware you were unconscious for fifteen minutes and that’s it. Can you remember any of what you experienced?”  
  
“Vividly.” John grimaced. “It was like a dream—I knew it was a dream but I couldn’t wake up. It, it sucked. Although it is kind of reassuring to realize it was induced by an Ancient device. I was really beginning to wonder when I’d started hating myself so much.” Rodney made a perplexed little tutting noise. Then he recalled his friend’s reaction upon waking.  
  
“Um, was I there, in your dream?” John looked up and Rodney stepped back from the pain in those hazel eyes.  
  
“Yeah. You were. Look, am I good here? I need some time to think.” At Rodney’s nod he left the infirmary, headed towards his quarters. Rodney was bursting with curiosity but for once he held it in check. He had a feeling John would tell him more when he was ready.  
\--  
 _Okay, Ancient teaching device designed to enlighten me to some necessary life lesson. Think this out John._  
  
Now that he knew what had caused the dream, and the overall function of the dream, it was just a matter of figuring out the puzzle. It was like a mathematical equation, and John knew he was damn good at those. So. There had been two people in his “dream” that he knew.  
  
Elizabeth had been his sister. Okay. Even in the dream that kind of made a weird sort of sense. They had bonded leading Atlantis together. She might not always approve of everything he did but she knew him well enough to trust him to do what needed to be done. So what lesson was he supposed to take from that? He already knew he cared about her a lot; probably more than he should with her being his boss and all but…hmm…maybe that was it. It was obvious to him, John, how he felt about Elizabeth. Maybe Elizabeth needed to know. He could do that. He could let her know he loved her as a sister and was always going to be by her side supporting her the best he could. Right. One down.  
  
That left Rodney, who was all around a much more difficult puzzle to John than Elizabeth would ever be. Except that’s what he loved about being Rodney’s friend. The man was never boring. Even when he was going on about normally boring scientific stuff he was so passionate about it that John found himself engrossed in the other man’s words. So, what had happened with Rodney in his “dream”? Well, they hadn’t been friends. That had hurt, so much, and more than John would have ever imagined it might. The thought of anyone causing Rodney that much hurt made him just want to protect the other man. Not that the real Rodney couldn’t take care of himself but everyone needed someone to look out for him…his thoughts trailed off as his door chimed, signaling a visitor.  
  
 _Well, it’s one of two people, and right now I’m betting on…_  
  
“Hey Rodney, come on in.” John wasn’t the least bit surprised that his friend had been unable to stay away.  
  
“Colonel, John…I know you said you needed time to think, I just…Look, when you woke up you kept saying you were sorry, and I get the feeling that something bad happened between us in your dream. I just wanted to let you know that no matter what it was, it wasn’t real. You don’t have anything to apologize for, at least not to me. You…you’re the best friend I have and I just wanted you to know that. Anyway. I brought you some coffee; it always helps me think, so I thought maybe you might like some, too…” John was grinning. He had realized what the second lesson was. He needed Rodney. Period. End of story. And from the looks of things, Rodney needed him too. Excellent. He mentally commanded the door to lock and took the two cups of coffee out of Rodney’s hands, setting them down on his desk.  
  
“I figured out what the lesson was Rodney. In fact, I’m kind of surprised it took some Ancient teaching device to learn it. That, at least, I do have to apologize for.” As he spoke he closed the space between himself and the scientist and for the second time that day wrapped his arms around his best friend. This time though, he didn’t hug the other man. He gently pressed his lips to Rodney’s and kissed him thoroughly. Rodney gasped and tried to step back, surprised.  
  
“Oh!” He inhaled deeply. His eyes locked with John’s and a beautiful smile broke out on his face. John smiled back in response. “Oh!” Rodney’s arms wrapped around John and he kissed him back.  
  
 _And if_ this _is a dream,_  he thought to himself as they moved towards the bed,  _I really don’t want to wake up any time soon._  
  
End


End file.
